Scraper winch



May 30, 1967 A. H. PILLMAN 3,322,397

SCRAPER WINCH Filed March 28, 1966 FIG. 2

ZvvQA/T-a Q; IQRTHME- /E R/ PLLH/QN United States Patent 3,322,397 SCRAPER WHNCH Arthur H. Pillman, Primrose Hill, Germiston, Transvaal, Republic of South Africa Filed Mar. 28, 1966, Ser. No. 537,875 Claims priority, application Republic of South Africa,

Apr. 9, 1965, 65/1871 Claims. (Cl. 254185) This invention relates to a winch which has a haulage drum and is particularly adapted for use in a mine for hauling scrapers, and in mining operations is usually provided with a pair of similar drums.

These winches are well known and are powered with an electric motor driving a worm and worm wheel assem bly connected to the driving shaft on which is mounted, one or each side of the driving wheel, a haulage drum. The winches usually are adapted to run at a constant speed, frequently however it is an advantage to vary haulage speeds to suit the work which has to be undertaken, for example the slope may vary from one position to another over which a scraper must work and suitable gears are provided for adjusting the power drive for the haulage drum or drums as required.

In a number of cases the haulage drum for a scraper must be changed or repaired and it is a great advantage to be able to remove the drum and replace it on the winch without having to interfere with or remove the hydraulic control gear. The control gear is very liable to damage if exposed to the dust in a mine.

It is an advantage to avoid as far as possible any small pipes or similar fittings on a scraper winch which is in use in a mine, since such fittings not only are in the Way when the winch must be repaired or removed, but they are liable to be bent or damaged during the working of the winch. Consequently it is an advantage to have a winch which is compact, easily moved when necessary and with the necessary fittings accessible but without extraneous parts.

It is the object of this invention to provide a winch, specially constructed for use in a mine, for the haulage of a scraper and well adapted to meet the conditions of such usage, such a winch whilst being robust, has a relatively small weight and is able to be moved and mounted without difiiculty, also one in which its drum and other parts may be attended to or repaired without the necessity for the removal or interference with its hydraulic system.

In accordance with this invention there is provided a Winch with a central compartment, a main driving shaft passing transversely therethrough and carrying a worm wheel meshing with a worm secured to a shaft driven through suitable gearing by a motor, a hydraulic oil pump driven through a gear on the motor shaft, a control box and oil pipes in said central compartment, outside of said the main driving shaft carrying drum and in addition units expandable to press under oil pressure against the bore of the haulage drum and to lock said drum to the driving shaft.

The invention makes it age With the clutch assembly housed in the bore of the haulage drum there are no outside oil pipes to be damaged. The outer portion of the bore of the haulage drum is free the shaft.

A winch having a pair of haulage drums is illustrated diagrammatically in the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan of the winch, and

FIG. 2 is a view partly in section on the the line 33 FIG. 1.

In the drawings 4 are the haulage drums of the winch, one on each end of the driving shaft. 5 is the electric motor for driving the winch, 6 is the motor shaft driving through gears 7 the worm 8 meshing with the worm wheel 9 secured to the driving shaft 10 of the winch. The worm wheel 9, the worm 8 with the driving gears 7 for the winch, are housed in a central compartment 11 which forms a splash chamber and also conveniently forms the base of the winch. The end of chamber 11 is partitioned off to form a reservoir 12 for oil for the hydraulic system for the winch.

The driving gears 7 are of convenient may be interchanged to vary the speed of the winch.

13 is an oil pump for the hydraulic system, it is mounted in the splash chamber 11 and is driven through gears 14 mounted on the worm shaft 6.

In FIG. 2 of the drawings is shown a rod 15 projecting from the side of the chamber 11. Inside the chamber 11, the rod 15 enters a suitable box 16 and in any suitable and well known manner, not shown, controls the oil pipes connecting the oil pump 13 with the oil pressure operated clutches in the haulage drums 4, and hereafter described.

The main bearings 17 for the haulage drum shaft 10 is attached to the wall of the chamber 11. Beyond the bearing 17 on the main shaft 10 is a sleeve 18 and suitably secured to shaft 10. The sleeve 18 carries a suitable disc-like member 19 adapted to expand, under oil pressure the hinged sections of a friction ring 20. Ring 20 expands against the bore 21 of the haulage drum 4. The outer portion 22 of the bore 21 is adapted to rotate freely on the outer portion of the sleeve 18.

The fiat ring 20, being the clutch member on the sleeve 18, is adapted to come into operation by oil pressure. By this means the drum 4 is made to rotate, or allowed to slip, or to run freely.

The hydraulic system for the clutch includes a pipe 23 from the control box 16 to an annular recess 24 between 0 ring joints and thereafter diagonally through the shaft 10 to an annular recess 25 between 0 rings for serving with pressure oil to the pressure chamber 26 for expanding the ring 20.

It will be seen by this arrangement that there are no exposed pipes in the hydraulic system.

The haulage drum 4 is free to rotate on its outer portion 22, on shaft 10 and when it is not clutched it is kept in position on the shaft 10 by a plate 2 7 secured to the end of the shaft 10 with a set screw 28.

It will be seen that with this arrangement the drum 4 is easily removed whenever necessary by the simple removal of the set screw 28 to allow it to slip off the sleeve 18 and without any derangement of the hydraulic system.

It is obvious that the radius of the drum 4 extends beyond the splash chamber 11, that is beyond the base 11 of the winch. Normally base 11 is made to rest on a foundation (not shown) which is of suitable height, and although it is not recommended as a practice, when it is necessary the winch could be moved by wheeling it on its drum 4. This arrangement would undoubtedly facilitate the remounting of the winch if such a move was required.

There are as shown normally two drums 4 on each hoist and the arrangements described are duplicated to provide for the second drum 4 as shown in the drawing.

The compartment 11 is a splash chamber and the oil pump 13 passes a portion of the oil continuously through an oil filter 29 before it passes to the oil reservoir 12 in size so that they 0 the compartment 11.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A winch for a haulage drum comprising a central compartment, an oil reservoir in said compartment, a driving shaft passing transversely therethrough and carrying a main gear wheel mounted in said compartment, a driving gear meshing with the main gear wheel and carried on a shaft driven by a motor, a haulage drum releasably mounted on said shaft outside the central compartment, said haulage drum having an axial bore extending therethrough, the inner portion of said bore being of enlarged diameter, a radially acting hydraulically operated clutch assembly inside said inner portion of said bore and securing in driving relation said drum to said shaft, and means internally of said dr-um supplying oil under pressure to said clutch directly from said compartment.

2. A winch as claimed in claim 1 in which the outer portion of the bore of the haulage drum rotates on the corresponding surface of the driving shaft, and in which the haulage drum is retained on the driving shaft by a removable part carried on the end of the shaft and which part is in direct contact with the outer end of the drum.

3. A winch as claimed in claim 1 in which said means for supplying oil to said clutch includes annular grooves round said shaft, seals on the shaft on either side of the grooves and a bore through the shaft to connect the annular grooves.

4. A winch as claimed in claim 1 in which the driving shaft carries a haulage drum on each side of the central compartment and in which the outside periphery of the haulage drums exceeds the height of the central compartment of the winch and extends below the bottom wall thereof, whereby the drums may act as wheel supports in moving the winch.

5. A winch for a haulage drum comprising a central compartment, a driving shaft passing transversely therethrough and carrying a main gear wheel mounted in said compartment, a driving gear meshing with the main gear wheel and carried on a shaft, a motor for driving said last named shaft, an oil reservoir in said compartment, a haulage drum releasably mounted on each end of said shaft outside the central compartment, each of said haulage drums having an axial bore extending therethrough, a radially acting hydraulically operated clutch assembly inside said bore and securing in driving relation said drum to said shaft, and means in said compartment supplying oil under pressure from said reservoir directly to said clutch internally of said drum.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,495,463 1/1950 Tourneau 254-187 2,537,267 1/1951 Gurries 254-185 3,220,702 11/1965 Caldwell 254-187 EVON C. BLUNK, Primary Examiner. H. C. HORNSBY, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A WINCH FOR A HAULAGE DRUM COMPRING A CENTRAL COMPARTMENT, AN OIL RESERVOIR IN SAID COMPARTMENT, A DRIVING SHAFT PASSING TRANSVERSELY THERETHROUGH AND CARRYING A MAIN GEAR WHEEL MOUNTED IN SAID COMPARTMENT, A DRIVING GEAR MESHING WITH THE MAIN GEAR WHEEL AND CARRIED ON A SHAFT DRIVEN BY A MOTOR, A HAULAGE DRUM RELEASABLY MOUNTED ON SAID SHAFT OUTSIDE THE CENTRAL COMPARTMENT, SAID HAULAGE DRUM HAVING AN AXIAL BORE EXTENDING THERETHROUGH, THE INNER PORTION OF SAID BORE BEING OF ENLARGED DIAMETER, A RADIALLY ACTING HYDRAULICALLY OPERATED CLUTCH ASSEMBLY INSIDE SAID INNER PORTION OF SAID BORE AND SECURING IN DRIVING RELATION SAID DRUM TO SAID SHAFT, AND MEANS INTERNALLY OF SAID DRUM SUPPLYING OIL UNDER PRESSURE TO SAID CLUTCH DIRECTLY SAID COMPARTMENT. 